Greenfield is one of the Saddleworth villages, located in a part of Oldham Metropolitan Borough, approximately four miles outside of Oldham town centre. The village is mainly situated on and around two roads in the Chew Valley , one of which is the main road from Oldham to Holmfirth, which crosses the Greater Manchester/Yorkshire border. Up until the last set of boundary changes, which took place in the late 1970s Greenfield, along with most of the other Saddleworth villages, was in fact a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire. Hence locals accents are not strictly Lancastrian or Mancunian, but a strange mixture of Lancastrian and Yorkshire.

The old boundaries led to particular problems during the Winter months, as Greenfield came under Holmfirth, significantly further away than Oldham, for such things as the fire service. Greenfield also contains three reservoirs - all linked to one another, Chew Reservoir , Yeoman Hey , and Dovestone Reservoir . There is a yachting club on one of these, and a set of walking paths round all three.

Greenfield is also the home of an amateur Rugby League side, Saddleworth Rangers , as well as Greenfield and Saddleworth cricket clubs. There are two junior and infant schools, and three churches (Methodist, Anglican and Catholic).